INTRODUCTION
THE VINEYARD OF GOD
God is a family man, both in the spiritual and the human senses of it. He has children born in His “own house”. There is therefore a fatherly relationship between Him and His children.
In order to show the kind of children he has, and the level of interaction between Him and them, God described them as “My vineyard” and “My people”.
What kind of a plant is the vine? It is a plant whose stem requires support and which climbs by tendrils or twining or creeps along the ground. As a result of the tender nature of the plant, it requires a lot of assistance from the husbandman for it to grow by leaning or climbing on the kind of support provided. Unlike the human farmer who cut some kind of tree for the plant to lean upon God makes Himself a solid support for His vine. Any vine that is not supported will remain perpetually on the ground trying to attach itself to any kind of support. Today many people are looking just for any kind of support, which is largely responsible for the misfortunes that have befallen the human race. God told Prophet Jeremiah:
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
- Jer 2:13
Almost invariably, God speaks about His people by comparing them to something, which bears a close resemblance. This is done to bring to the human understanding the precise and clearer pictures of what He wants to pass across to his listeners.
The book of Isaiah has one of the best of such close comparison of God’s people to a vineyard. Chapter five, verses one to seven can be said to be a drama of reality where God and his children are artistes as well as viewers.
Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my
vineyard that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry”
-Isa.5: 1-7
The stage is open and God appears as a dutiful farmer. He devotes much attention to His vineyard, taking care of the tender plants to ensure they get utmost protection. He wants them to live as He also lives because He created them from the dust of the earth and they were filled with His own spirit.
Like the human farmer, He is never happy seeing His plants disturbed or its growth retarded by erosion, drought or pests. Greater care is taken before the planting season to ensure adequate protection against destructive factors. The goal of every farmer is a bumper harvest.
The goal of God, the farmer, is not only a bumper harvest but also a desire to personally consume the proceeds of His farm. He does not produce cash crops. When a farmer produces to sell he may produce any kind for the market but he produces the best for himself and his household. God’s desire for you is that you become the best.
Unlike the human farmer, natural or spiritual forces cannot hinder God. He is always ensuring that His vineyard gets every necessary catalyst. But with all this assistance, human factors, i.e. his vineyard, could render God’s labour futile. It might get all the necessary assistance and yet refuse to produce a bumper harvest. The second verse of Chapter Five points out what God as a farmer does to His vineyard:
“And he fenced it, and gathered out
the stones thereof, and planted it with
the choicest vine, and built a tower in
the midst of it, and also made a winepress
thereon and he looked that it should bring
forth grapes, and it bought forth wild grapes”
God’s nature of care and protection over His vineyard is outlined as follows: He
(1) Fenced it
(2) Gathered out the stones.
(3) Planted it with choicest vine
(4) Built a tower in the midst of it, and
(5) Made a winepress thereon.
This book contains the efforts of the Almighty God over your life and your response to his caring and love. It is especially written for those who are already children of God and are either appreciating or discountenancing the efforts of God.
CHAPTER ONE
GOD FENCED HIS VINEYARD
If you think you know what a fence looks like, just take a walk around some military installation, and ask few questions from the building contractor who built the Abuja presidential villa or the Aso Rock Villa, you would be amazed at what amount of cement tonnage it took to build a bedroom for Mr. President.
Fences can take many forms and the factor that determines the form used at a particular place is the importance attached to the object being protected. The president of a country is precious, that is why the fence and other security network have to be enormous.
How precious is God’s security network? Oh extremely more precious than the president! This is the reason why God does not employ visible fence of wooden barriers, metal stakes or nails and security personnel to watch over His vineyard. Noting very well that manmade fence could fail, He said concerning his vineyard:
“I the lord do keep it (My vineyard)
I will watch it every moment. Lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day”
-Isaiah 27:3
God’s people must consider themselves blessed to have the Almighty Himself as a Watchman. They no longer need to entertain any fear and the warning “except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” as King David observed.
Another reason, which informs God’s choice of fence, is that the forces against His vineyard are not human but spiritual forces that do not require a door in order to gain entrance into every home. Angels of darkness and other spiritual beings do not require doors to enter into your house; witches and wizard come in uninvited; the spiritual wickedness in high places operates around you and influences you for evil without asking for permission to do so. Job did not call for Satan when he came to his home and business. Our lord Jesus did not invite Satan while fasting and praying. He came in unannounced and uninvited.
In Yoruba land i.e. southwest Nigeria ogun is believed to be among the numerous gods of the land and is being worshiped today by his adherents. Folklore has it that this same god when he was still human led an army to battle but when he lost so many soldiers to the enemy he went to the capital to recruit more soldiers. On getting to a town called Ire, he visited a woman selling palm wine and he drank until he slept off and he lost the battle.
But the owner of His vineyard never sleeps nor slumbers. Put your trust in him and you can go to bed with your two eyes firmly shut.
“For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities
against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”
-Eph 6:12
One may not really understand the operation of the rulers of darkness until someone very close becomes their victim or when you meet someone who is suffering, courtesy of satanic power. Sicknesses, which defy diagnosis and the best medical attention, are attributable to their influences.
Thank God, our watchman is God Himself. Therefore, God’s people must never be afraid of evil power; our security network is intact all the time.
The psalmist said:
“The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil :he shall preserve thy soul
the Lord shall preserve thy
going out and thy coming in from
this time forth , and even for evermore”
-Psalm 121:7-8
The psalmist placed an important emphasis on time in the seventh verse. God’s special protection and preservation apart from the “general,” begins the day you give your life to the Lord Jesus. There are so many benefits you stand to gain apart from the general blessings of God towards the totality of his creatures.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
All it takes to become a special child of God is simply asking Jesus to become your Lord and Saviour. As soon as you do that your name will be written in his own special record called the book of life
From this time forth the Lord shall be your refuge in the storm and beacon in the night. From the day you become his vineyard, he also shall become your Watchman for evermore.
Every watchman has weapons while every presidential guard is an embodiment of the modern day ammunition. What is the weapon of God? God’s weapon is fire. He protects his vineyard with a wall of fire surrounding it. This being so, the devil and his cohorts are kept at a far distance. God says:
“I, saith the Lord will be unto her a wall
Of fire round about, and
Will be the glory in the midst of her”
-Zech.2: 5
This godly fire is quite unlike the ordinary human fire. It is the kind, which can identify friend from foe. It means protection and comfort to the former and discomfort and death to the latter.
This was the same fire, which burns, and the bush was not consumed, and from which the voice of “I am that I am” came out to Moses.
The next time Elijah sought its assistance, it destroyed the soldiers of King Ahab and the captains of fifties.
The heavenly fire not only protects, it glorifies the vineyard to the jealousy of those who are yet to become “My vineyard”. Just like the refiners’ furnace it removes all impurities in us and makes us pure and shining.
There is an incontrovertible fact that many people have come to accept: anyone who has been born again has a certain look of glory that made it easy for them to be identified as followers of Christ. They are always radiant. The secret behind this is that the joy of the Lord has become their strength and what is inside is showing on the outside. If you see anyone wanting to be alone who is always moody, sad and lonely you can be sure who lives inside such a person. If you belong to Christ the people of the world will know you even if you deny. Peter’s efforts to hide his identity failed.
-Matt 26:69-73
“Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee.”
There is something in you, though you may not see it that the world is using to identify you with Jesus. You may see yourself as somebody not important but the world attaches some importance to you because God is keeping watch over your life.
Ritualists kidnapped a boy some years ago and when they took him to the idol where he was to be used for ritual the idol spoke through a demon “I don’t want this boy there is a mark upon him.”
The Bible says:
“And the Lord will create upon
Every dwelling place of mounts Zion
And upon her assemblies, a cloud
And smoke by day, and the shining
Of a flaming fire by night: for
Upon all the glory shall be a defence”.
-Isaiah 4:5
Christians are no mean creatures; they are kings and priests and God called them glory. Glorious things must be protected from thieves and profaners of holy materials. We are glorious to our God and so deserve His best protection.
CHAPTER TWO
GOD GATHERED OUT THE STONES
“Behold a sower went out to sow… some
fell upon stony places, where they sprang up because they had no deepness of earth, and the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no roots,
they withered away”.
(Matt 13: 5-6)
The above quoted verses of the scripture explain fully the effect of stones in the vineyard. God is more than anyone else, aware that His people have stony problems, which could inhibit their growth and development, these he called stones, which have to be picked up one by one until the vineyard becomes void of them.
The perfect description of stones in the life of any Christian is to call them works of the flesh: “Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanness, Lasciviousness, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred, Variance Emulations, Wrath, Strive, Seditions Heresies, Murder, Drunkenness, and Revelling”
-Gal 5:19-21
In order to be what God wants his people to be, all these stones must be removed.
Anything that is in your life and would hinder the glory of God from being manifested, is like the effect stones would produce in a farm. There are two types of stones: first, the stones of sin and second, the stones of permanent destruction of your success. As long as anyone of them remains, growth and development will be retarded, and the whole essence of planting the vineyard will be defeated.
The devil himself, the author of sin, threw those stones into God’s vineyard. In the beginning, God created everything good until the devil taught human beings disobedience, consequently, all other evil things followed.
In the olden days most (especially in the Palestine), one of the cruel methods of dealing with an enemy permanently was not just fighting against his army but to throw stones into his land and wells to destroy the country’s source of food and water and to make sure that even after the war it will find it difficult to recover again.
“They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.”
-2 Kings 3:24-25
Thus, if there must be a complete redemptive work, the stones have to be gathered out. If the enemies have thrown stones into your life’s field there is nothing that you can do to have success again. If you are ever going to be successful again in life every stone that the enemies have thrown into your field must be picked up and thrown away.
So also if the stones of sin have been deposited in your spiritual life, until they are removed you will continue to live a defeated Christian life. Your personal effort will not help you until you seek for God who can do it for you.
The ousting of those stones would make it easy for you to live a life above sin and failure.
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remained in him. And he cannot sin because he is born of God”
(1 John 3:9)
One important thing to note about the stones is that it may take some time to get rid of them from God’s vineyard. This fact is buttressed as new converts still engage themselves in some of the works of the flesh. This will not continue for long.
Day after day, as he studies God’s words it becomes clearer to him that some of those things he cherished- sinful entertainments and the not too bad sin are bad as well as sinful.
Many born again Christians are too much in a hurry to see their converts turned into saints within one week. This is like forcing an orange to ripen by the use of unconventional methods.
Those who wish to make quick money from the sales of oranges do use dubious means to force unripe oranges and other fruits to early maturity. They pour some carbide on them for a certain period. Most of us who have unfortunately bought some of such fruits can testify that they have no good taste. So also is a rushed converts forced to maturity.
Converts must themselves be made to realise through the Word of God that this and that attitude must be dropped. What they need is advice and encouragement on how to continue to rely on God given grace to overcome sin.
God dealt with Moses in stages. At first He attracted him to His side by the miracle of the burning bush. He later told him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.
New converts must be carefully handled so that we do not chase them away with what they cannot presently bear. The story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus shows clearly how to treat our new converts.
Jesus knew she had had five husbands, meaning that she was a harlot. But Jesus left all that to talk about salvation first. This gave an opportunity to the woman to listen and receive the living water, and having tasted it, went forth to call the whole city to hear Jesus Christ and be saved. What a great privilege for Jesus to spread the Good News.
Of course all other things will follow as the converts continue to fellowship with other Christians. After all, it took the first disciples some time to understand that the calling of God is more than “come unto me ye that labour and are heavy laden. I will give rest unto your soul” By the time they realised this fact it was too late, having known the truth, for many of them to turn back. When Jesus even asked them whether they would want to turn away, they simple answered Him, “unto whom shall we go?”
The greatest danger facing a new convert is the urge to begin to live a life he does not believe in, trying to show off as a matured Christian when truly he is not. After the death of Jesus Christ the disciple gathered together living a communal life in the hope that Jesus Christ would return so soon. Almost every one of them sold his possessions and laid down the proceeds at the apostles’ feet.
Thus a certain man named Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, tried to imitate other Christians. They sold their property but were not fully convinced that the proceeds should be laid at the Apostles’ feet. Both of them died a shameful death (Act5: 1-5).
The sin of the couple was not just that they lied unto the Holy Ghost, but that they were forcing themselves into maturity, deflecting from the normal course of growth and development.
How long does it take God to get rid of the stones from His vineyard? It is as long as the vineyard agrees with God to do it. It takes the co-operation of his people for God to do it. This is the reason why some Christians grow very rapidly while others grow sluggishly or in some cases refuse to grow. The Lord Jesus says:
“Blessed are they, which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”
-Matt 5:6
It is only those of His children who “do hunger and thirst after righteousness” that shall be filled
Therefore, the most essential needs for growth is the developing of the “hunger and thirst” attitudes, to desire to know more about God and the readiness to live according to His dictates.
As a matter of urgency, God’s people must grow out of infancy or else the devil will torment them. God could even push them aside to give room for others.
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit, he purged it, that it may bring for more fruit.”
-John 15:2.
Christians must live their lives always asking the question: “If Christ comes today, what are those things that could hinder me from getting rapture? And if there is anything make sure you get rid of it.
It is always good to look at the antithetical side of scriptures that pronounces blessing. Those who will refuse to hunger and thirst after righteousness are also cursed; for they shall not be filled.
God requires your cooperation to be able to gather out the stones out of His vineyard just as the doctor would require the cooperation of the patient to be well- attended to and treated.
CHAPTER THREE
GOD PLANTED IT WITH THE CHOICEST VINE
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”
-Matt 12:43-45
Our God is not just interested in picking stones from His vineyard, He also replaces every stone picked with the choicest vine.
He is aware how impossible it is to have an empty farm. It is either grown with wild weeds or grapes. If you will be wise, whatever stones have been gathered out of your life should be destroyed or thrown away to a place where you cannot reach for them again.
A story was told of a man who used to smoke pipe and when he got born again he stopped it but kept the pipe somewhere in his room. One day he was cleaning his house and found the pipe again and he started admiring it remembering how he used to smoke it. That day he started smoking again.
What are the things that God has taken away from you? If he has taken alcohol from you why are you still keeping the bottles in you house? If He has taken fornication from you why are you still visiting brothels and keeping the photograph of your old boy/girl friend in your house. Will you check your homes today for anything that can link you to your bad past? A clean past will give you a clean future.
When Apostle Paul preached in the city of Ephesus, a city full of all kind of magical practices and vices, many of them were converted to Christ Jesus. They did something, which shows to us that they did not want to have anything to do with the bad past.
“Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
-Acts 19:19
Why are you still keeping those dirty books years after you have confessed Jesus as Lord and saviour? Check your study today and remove those materials that may one day lure you back to fornication, immorality and any practices that your saviour will not be happy to find you with.
God’s choicest vine is the fruit of the spirit, which he plants in place of the work of the flesh.
“…But the fruit of the spirit is love joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”
Gal 5:22-23
Immediately a man is born again, you will begin to notice love, joy and peace in His life. And this fact is not so much a surprise to us because our Lord Jesus himself is love: He saved us by His love, the Bible confirms this.
“Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God”
1 John 4:7
Like father, like children. If you are genuinely born again, you must automatically have love. But if you don’t have, it means you don’t know God at all.
God’s people have no alternative than to live a joyous life.
All those sorrow-bearing stones have been totally removed. Christ in us is the hope of glory. We hope for a city not built with hands; where there is no sorrow of any kind. This is enough a consolation for the forgone sinful entertainment.
When God looks around His vineyard he suddenly discovers a stone with an inscription “FEAR” meaning,
F - False
E - Evidences
A -Appearing
R - Real
It then implies that FEAR= False Evidence Appearing Real.
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
-Rom 8:15
God then smiles and speaks to his people not to fear and never believe in any of these evidences he uses to put fear into them.
After God has given us the full meaning of FEAR and the “fear stone” itself have been thrown out, He will plant peace in that place where fear has been removed. He will look at you with a smile and say:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, giveth I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid”
John 14:27
But if God still discovers that you are not sure of what He said, He will now say it in a commanding tone, in his capacity as the Almighty.
“Fear thou not: for I am with thee be not dismayed; for I am thy God. Yea I will help thee: yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness”
-Isaiah 41:10
As God continues working in His vineyard, he stumbles on another stone called “UNCLEANNESS”. ‘What are you doing here?’ He asks. And before the stones could utter any excuse, God throws it out. In its place HOLINESS is planted. From that day onward God’s voice keeps on reminding the vineyard ;
“You shall be holy unto me
For I the Lord am holy
and you shall sanctify yourselves
and be holy for I am holy.
When God lookes around His vineyard and feels satisfied and beams with smiles he suddenly saw doubt hanging in a corner. He removes doubt and plants faith in its stead. Then God hands down a warning to his vineyard that:
… Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
-Heb 11:6
God expatiates further by showing examples of great people of God that have walked in faith. He mentions Noah, Joseph, Rahab, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, etc.
It is deliberate that he mentions their names, to show His vineyard that none of them is an empiricist whose dictum is “seeing is believing”. They are those who believed before they saw it. They are neither like Bro Lot who scientifically chose the land of Sodom and Gomorra nor were they like Bro. Thomas who saw the hands and the feet of Jesus in order to believe that He truly resurrected.
God is also interested in removing from your life stones that have been a hindrance to your physical wellbeing. May He look into your life today and remove all those things that have being militating against your spiritual, physical and financial wellbeing.
For Peter, it was professional failure. He failed in his chosen profession because he could not catch a fish. For the woman with the issue of blood it was a sickness that has defied all medical solution while for Lazarus it was the stone they rolled on his tomb.
Why not pray to Jesus and ask Him to roll away any stone that has hindered you from reaching your goal.
CHAPTER FOUR
HE BUILT A TOWER IN THE MIDST OF IT
“Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”
-Psalm 61:1-4
God’s vineyard is taking shape with the planting of the choicest vine in it. But God has discovered that something very important is lacking. He has fenced it, gathered out the stones and planted vine in it, and yet something is missing.
There is a need for a tower that can serve as a power house for this vineyard and this tower should be potent enough, when mentioned, to put Satan and the host of Hell into pandemonium. Thus it is written:
“The name of the lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.”
-Prov. 18:10
A tower is a tall building for defence and it can be used by a farmer to protect his farm or by the military to protect a city from sudden attack. When it is used by the military it is packed full of ammunition like heavy stones that may be rolled down on an enemy below and flint and arrows that may be shot at the enemies at a distance. It is also a place of refuge because it is strongly built and fortified. A person that is being pursued by enemies may find a refuge in it.
The tower that God built in his vineyard is for your protection against all kinds of evil. To have access to this, you must be ready to call on the name of the Lord.
When the Bible enjoins Christians to “put on the whole armour of God” (Eph 6: 12), it simply means that the name of Jesus should be in their mouth. The name should be mentioned against all the rulers of darkness, demons, and the devil, their- international coordinator.
The Tower Jesus, is also a place of refuge from the arrows of the enemy. Whenever the enemy is pursuing, this name will serve as the shadow of the Almighty God. The psalmist, who had faced several battles, spiritual and physical, has this to say about the tower:
“For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings”.
-Ps 61: 3-4
Unlike the conventional tower, the name of the Lord is designed for mobility and versatility. All that God requires from His vineyard is “call unto me” anywhere, anytime, any day. Those who believe in Jesus have greater advantages over those who put their trust in charms: the advantage of having access to our source of power anytime any day and anywhere.
“When thou passeth through the
Waters I will be with thee and
Through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
Thou shall not be burned; neither
Shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
-Isaiah 43: 2
If you are amongst those who compare God’s place of refuge to a bunker, you should have changed your thinking. The Gulf war made nonsense of military bunker when several civilians were killed in Iraq inside a bunker. The tower we are talking about is bullet, gas, water, arrow, curse, and ill- luck proof.
God has already assured those who dwell under His shadow, that no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper. This is one of the reasons why God’s vineyard, who knows his God, shall never be afraid of terror by the night or the arrow that flieth by day, pestilence, nor destruction.
The Tower also allows the vineyard to be on the offensive, by launching attacks into the territories of the enemy. The Israelites had always been on the defensive before God found David. David knew the power behind the name of the Lord. He spoke to Goliath and defeated him in the name of the Lord.
God has not given birth to weakling children who will always be hiding from the enemy. God called himself “The Lord of Host “. This by interpretation means the commander in chief of all forces”.
He has appointed His children as the battle-axes against every principality and power.
It is therefore advisable that Satan be rebuked everyday. Let him be rebuked over the church of God, over your family, over your business, the nation and whole world.
The name of Jesus can also be used to obtain the favour and goodness of the Lord. Why not look into a mirror, point to your figure and begin to say:
“It shall be well with me
I shall be the head and not the tail
Goodness and mercy shall follow me
I shall lend and not borrow
I will see the goodness of the lord
in the land of the living, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
God who attaches great importance to the name of Jesus shall grant whatever you say about yourself. He has commissioned Jesus to make it known to all lovers of that name that:
“…Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do, that the father may be glorified in the son if ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
-John 14:13-14
With this “blank cheque” we have limitless opportunity to do what we want. With it, prosperity becomes ours, perfect health is guaranteed and success is our inheritance.
The tower because of its height makes it easy for those who dwell in it to see things ahead before their emergence. Trouble can be sighted afar off and prevented and an abundance of rain can be noticed and be prepared for. This factor keeps the children of God aware of things that are about to happen now and in the future. After about three and a half year of drought the prophet of God saw an abundance of rain. King Ahab looked up and saw nothing, yet it rained. Whenever God is going to do anything He even allows his vineyard to know and probably make some suggestion.
“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;”
Gen 18:17
Not only that God reveals what he is about to do to His children He also warns them of danger ahead. When Paul was sailing from Rome to Italy he had a premonition of danger.
“He said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul “
-Acts 27:10-11
As a result of the great advantages that we have as tower-dwellers it is not easy for us to be deceived, except we ourselves desired to be deceived.
“But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants,”
-2 Kings 5:25-26
There are so many advantages we stand to gain by living in the Tower. David must have counted them before he said:
“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”.
Ps 84:10-11
Are you still living in the tower that God provides? Living elsewhere could be inimical to your physical and spiritual wellbeing.
CHAPTER FIVE
GOD MADE A WINEPRESS THEREIN
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
Matt 21:33-40
God has been so good to his people; everything we have discussed so far is surely talking about those benefits God bestowed upon his vineyard. Now God expects something in return for all this. He wants to suck the sweet juice of grapes from his vineyard.
Man has always disappointed God in the area of getting a bit of enjoyment from the fruit of his labour. In the beginning, he created man in His own image and empowered him above all other creatures only to regret afterward for creating him.
And God saw that the wickedness of man is great in the earth and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was evil continually and I repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6: 5-7
The winepress is a place where God intends to process His grapes into liquid and then drink its product to his satisfaction. Alas! God’s vineyard has produced wild grapes with sour taste. God expects His people to live a Holy life full of praises. They continued to live a life of sin without any regard to the one who has given them their source of living and they still expect that the grace of God should abound. No way. God is now asking you what to do to such disobedient vineyard.
“What could have been done more to my
Vineyard that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes”.
Why not put yourself in God’s shoes and share in His agony of loss and disappointment. If you were the owner of such vineyard that has not fulfill the desire of the farmer what would you have done to such a vineyard that has benefited a lot from you and pays you with wild grapes? You will probably have expressed God’s own opinion:
“And now go to: I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will take away the hedges thereof and it shall be eaten up
And break down the wall thereof and it shall be trodden down.
I will lay it waste: It shall not be pruned, or digged
But there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Isaiah 6: 7
What exactly God said in Isaiah has been bluntly expressed before in the book of Genesis 6: 7:
“And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth…
For anyone of his people who disobeys his commandment shall be destroyed by the forces of darkness. By the time God removes the hedges and the wall of fire protection, the way becomes opens to Satan and his host to torment the vineyard.
Each time you read about the removal of the protection wall of fire, your mind should just flash back to those horrible things we have said about Satan /as; SATAN WOE UNTO YOU, SATAN IS DEFEATED, SATAN’S POWER; POWERLESS POWER etc.
If God should just open the door to those demons we have always cursed, you can imagine what will be the resultant effect. It is then you will know that to those who are not in Christ, Satan’s power is a “super power”. The liberty we have to say and do anything to Satan and his demons are subject to the condition that we remain in Christ.
Taking away the hedges could mean several things:
• Take away the protection of God from you.
• Take away the help of God from you.
• Take away the source of your ability
• Take away your financial strength.
• Take away your children that are so precious to you that you have neglected God.
• Take away your joy and happiness.
• Take away your knowledge or turning it to foolishness.
• Take away the mercies of God so that you can fully pay for your offences.
• As a last result: take away your life.
We all were once enslaved to Satan and we have miraculously escaped. He has never been happy about it and he is busy searching for you and me. And if by any means he gets us re-arrested, we are done for. Satan never treats his own “prodigal son” like the biblical father did. He will rather treat him in a way similar to how the European slave traders treated African “runaway slaves”.
During the European slave Trade across the Atlantic, African slaves’ legs were nailed to logs of woods and their toes cut off to prevent them from further escape. If those slave traders could be such wicked you now imagine how terrible the devil’s wickedness will be.
I am sure that if you have tasted poverty, sickness, failure and demonic attack you would never wish to have the experience once again. Yet that is where God intends to return you to for your failure to produce good fruits.
John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Maybe you have not been careful enough to take note of how many people have been taken away in the recent times. As some souls are coming to the kingdom some others are thrown out as unfit for the master’s use. You can start by asking yourself: How many of us were baptised at the same time and how many still remained? How many Pastors and church leaders did you know and how many remained. How many church and fellowship did you know and how many remained. So many people are being daily eliminated. God told Prophet Eli that:
Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
1 Sam 2:30-33.
Someone said if a gun is shut at you and you can hear the sound it could implies that it missed you or that it did not kill you. Those that die by gun never live to hear the sound of it. If you are opportune to read this message you are very lucky indeed because you are still alive. God’s grace is still available unto you.
After he had promised to destroy the world, man and the beast, he had compassion on Noah because God had discovered Noah among many people. Will you allow God to discover you? God has no joy in the destruction of the work of his hand. He is still saying today like he said it before.
If I shut up heaven that there should be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, Then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land”
2 Chr. 7: 13-14
What God expects from his vineyard to regain his former position with him is that he humbles himself and seeks his face. God has never forgotten his vineyard, though as he has deserted him. He is still known as Christian taken from Christ.
Therefore God expects those that are called by His name to repent before the coming of the final destruction.
“Remember therefore from whence thou at fallen, and repent, and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlesticks out of its place except thou repent”
Rev 3:5.
While the call of repentance is to every sinner, the Christian who falls back to sin has a special call. First: to remember the factors that brought him back to sin, and secondly: the call to repentance from that very sin. It is therefore pertinent for you to examine yourself to be able to find out what actually has brought about a break in communication between God and you.
What are those things that are keeping you away from your maker, the source of life? Why not identify them and seek Godly solution to them. These problems must not overwhelm you.
God has given you the power over life circumstances. As his vineyard, you have already gotten more than you needed to cope with those difficulties.
Never judge God’s capacity by those problems and unsuitable circumstances. Try to remember to bless the Lord who forgives all those iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction and crown you with loving kindness and tender mercies and satisfies your mouth with good things.
The reason why you have not got answer to those problems might be because you are no longer in tune with God. His promise concerning prayer remains the same:
If ye abide in my word and me abide in
You, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall
Be done unto you.
John 15:7.
It is therefore left for you to be what God wants you to be. You have known, read and heard that you are God’s vineyard. There is no limit to your ability to live a healthy prosperous and sinless life.
He hath shown thee, O man what is good and what the lord requires of thee, but to do justly and love, mercy and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
